Looking Back Sharks' First Quarter

The first 22 games for the San Jose Sharks may not have gone exactly how the players would have wanted them to go. But it’s exactly how fans and probably the front office expected it to go. The only curve ball would have been losing 10 straight games out of the gate. And more than just bad too. During that enormous season-opening losing streak, the Sharks also gave up back-to-back 10-goal games. 

The Sharks' main struggle, aside from defending, has been finding offensive production. They have scored 36 goals through 22 games. Last in the league. They average about 1.64 goals per game, which isn’t going to win games in the National Hockey League. You can't forget about goals against though, as the Sharks have been scored on 90 times in 22 games. Also the worst in the league. Seems like a pretty brutal pattern if you ask me.

Anyway, focusing on the offensive side of things, the player who has provided the most offensive numbers thus far this season is alternate captain, Tomas Hertl. He has scored four goals and 16 points in 21 games. After Hertl, there is a significant drop-off. The second leading scorer on the Sharks is Fabien Zetterlund. Even though he has recently begun to sort of break out these past six or so games, he still only has nine points on the year. It’s pretty clear that the offense is just not there for this squad. Something that will hopefully change once Captain Couture returns.

Continuing on, the Sharks defense has shown improvement over the course of the last five or six games, aside from a brutal loss to the Seattle Kraken. They are currently on their first win streak of the season, with two wins in a row heading into the game tonight, against the Boston Bruins (Nov 30).

With the addition of Calen Addison, the blue line as well as the power-play has shown at least some improvement. I’ve been a big fan of Ty Emberson who just recently potted his first NHL goal. And we have continued to see the work ethic of Mario Ferraro who has shown to have taken a big step with his leadership role during the absence of Logan Couture. The Sharks blue line is just a few players away from being a well-established, NHL defensive core.

Moving on, new players on the roster have struggled early on. Mike Hofmann, who was looking like he was going to be waived almost any game through his first 10-15 games, has really turned it on lately. He has scored six goals in his last seven games. Anthony Duclair on the other hand hasn’t seemed to be able to figure it out. His struggles have shown and it explains his lack of productivity through 19 games he has suited up in. 

Now, I have really liked William Eklund’s game so far, but I know there’s still another level he has yet to reach. Four goals and eight points through 22 games isn’t bad. But I was hoping to see him around the 12-15 point range by now. He’s definitely had the opportunities. I think as we approach the halfway mark and beyond he’s really going to turn on the jets. As for Thomas Bordeleau, he was still making some minor mistakes and was eventually sent down to the Barracuda to gain back some confidence and that’s exactly what he’s done. Bordeleau has posted five goals and 10 points in 10 games. He’s dominating in the AHL for the second year in a row. Any day now he should be recalled and hopefully be able to play loose like he has been but this time, in the NHL.

There’s still no sign of Logan Couture, whose presence on the ice and even in the room has begun to hit the fans now. I know I was hoping he would be ready to go for the season opener. At worst no more than three to five games. But 22? He will probably begin skating sometime next week and hopefully, we will see him back in game action by mid-December. Couture’s absence has been felt and it’s undoubtedly going to make a difference once he returns. I’m sure he’s around a lot behind the scenes. But this team, especially young players like Eklund, Emberson, and Bordeleau, need him on the bench. This team needs their captain.

Last but not least, the goaltending this season has been exactly that. Goaltending. I haven’t seen too much of a difference with Kaapo Kahkonen. He’s played similarly to his strengths from last season. Another year of being left out to dry continuously by the poorly built roster in front of him. It’s Mackenzie Blackwood, though, who finds a way to steal the show. Blackwood, despite what his win/loss says, has been amazing. He has kept this team in so many games and the amount of “big time” saves he makes night in and night out is truly remarkable.

The Sharks currently sit at 5-15-2 on the year. Not too bad for starting the season 0-10-1. Improvements are being made. One bright side of the Sharks record is that they are 5-1-1 in their last seven home games. Hoping to continue that trend for the rest of the season. 

Let’s see which Sharks team shows up for Quarter 2.